Binghamton fell 4-2 on the Marlies Annual School Day game during their only trip of the season to Toronto this past Wednesday. Mark Stone extended his point streak to 11 straight games as he lead the B-Sens with a goal and an assist, but Marlies goaltender Drew MacIntyre stopped 34 of 36 shots faced to stifle any rallying attempts.

Toronto struck first with just 14 seconds remaining in the opening period on a short-handed tally from Kenny Ryan to give the hosts the slim lead heading into the first intermission.

Johnson City native Jerry D’Amigo scored his 15th goal of the year adding to the Marlies lead 46 seconds into the middle frame on the man advantage. Matt Puempel cut the lead to 2-1 just 33 seconds later for his 20th marker in his rookie campaign off an assist from Stone. The Marlies and B-Sens went on to trade goals to end the second period moving the score to 3-2. The first came from Toronto’s Mike Duco at 7:18 before Stone lifted the puck past MacIntyre on the power play to give Binghamton its second goal of the game.

Despite outshooting the Marlies 12-8 over the final 20 minutes of play, the B-Sens failed to find the back of the net. With Binghamton goaltender Andrew Hammond on the bench for an extra attacker, Josh Leivo flipped the puck into the empty net with less than 30 seconds remaining to give Toronto the 4-2 win.

Hammond finished the contest stopping 26 of 29 shots faced but was dealt his 12th loss of the year. D’Amigo led the Marlies with a goal and an assist.

The B-Sens continued its road trip to Newfoundland, Canada, and fell 6-2 in their first of two back-to-back games against the IceCaps. Nathan Lawson allowed six goals in his first appearance since leaving after the first period February 8 against the Hamilton Bulldogs. John Albert scored twice and added an assist while teammate Kael Mouillierat added a pair of goals to lead the IceCaps past the B-Sens for the second of four meetings between the teams this season.

Adam Lowry knocked home a rebound from Lawson just over five minutes into the opening period giving the IceCaps the 1-0 lead seconds after Binghamton successfully killed off a five versus three St. John’s man advantage. The IceCaps notched two goals 30 seconds apart to make it 3-0 before the end of the first. John Albert made it 2-0 at 12:21 on a power-play strike before Kael Mouillierat scored his 17th of the year off a Binghamton turnover sending the Sens to the locker room down 3-0 after 20 minutes of play.

St. John’s added a pair of goals during the middle frame while Binghamton failed to find the back of the net for the second straight period. Mouillierat made it 4-0 with his second goal of the game 10:18 into the frame on the power play off assists from Albert and Will O’Neill. With less than one minute remaining in the period, Albert notched his second tally of the night off a feed from Kyle MacKinnon making it 5-0 heading into the final period of play.

There was no third period magic for the B-Sens as Eric O’Dell scored on a penalty shot at 2:38 to move the score to 6-0. Binghamton managed back-to-back goals less than three minutes apart, the first coming from Buddy Robinson with both teams skating with four skaters before Jean-Gabriel Pageau notched a power-play strike at 10:14 to move the final to 6-2.

IceCap’s goaltender Michael Hutchinson stopped 26 of 28 shots to earn his 11th victory of the season. Lawson struggled in his return stopping 28 of 34 shots to fall to 15-7-0 for the year.

Binghamton played significantly better Saturday night but still came up empty losing 1-0 in their second consecutive game versus the St. John’s IceCaps. St. John’s O’Dell scored 11:41 into the opening period while goaltender Hutchinson stopped all 42 shots from Binghamton for the shutout victory.
Binghamton outshot the host IceCaps 17-8 through the opening 20 minutes of play however St. John’s carried a 1-0 lead to the locker room. O’Dell beat Hammond at 11:41 of the opening period for his 15th goal of the season giving the IceCaps the one goal advantage heading into the first intermission.
Second period action skated to a stalemate following both Binghamton and St. John’s registering 10 shots on goal while Hammond and Hutchinson stonewalled all chances sent their way. With the scoreless period the IceCaps carried the 1-0 lead into the final period of regulation.
Despite more than doubling the IceCaps in shots through the final 20 minutes of play, the B-Sens failed to find the back of the net. Hutchinson stopped all 15 shots faced over the third period for his second shutout of the season. Hammond played solid for Binghamton stopping 24 of 25 shots faced but ultimately fell to 17-13-3 for the season.

Record: 33-19-1-3 (70 points)

Standings: For the first time since December 26 the B-Sens find themselves without sole possession of first place in the East Division. Following four consecutive losses, Binghamton is currently tied with the Norfolk Admirals (31-17-1-7, 70 pts.) for the top spot in the division. Wilkes-Barre sits in third place with a 30-20-3-4 record and 67 points while Hershey trails them by just two points with a 29-21-3-4 record over 57 games played. Syracuse remains in last place with 53 points and a 22-24-4-5 record.

THIS WEEK…

Saturday, March 8 vs. Utica Comets (Vancouver Canucks)—7:05p.m.
Following a dismal road trip Binghamton returns home this Saturday for a 7:05p.m. contest against the Utica Comets. This will be the final matchup of the four-game season series between the clubs. Utica has taken two of the previous three including the latest 3-2 loss for the Sens at home back on February 22. The Comets currently sit in 4th place in the North Division with a 23-26-3-4 record over 56 contests.

Center Pascal Pelletier leads all Utica skaters with 44 points (10 goals, 34 assists) over 49 games played while right winger Benn Ferriero leads the team with 19 goals on the year.

Joacim Eriksson has appeared in net for 37 games this season compiling a 17-17-2 record with a 2.53 goals-against average and a 0.914 save percentage. Fellow rookie netminder Joe Cannata has seen action in 21 contests while going 6-11-1 with a 3.08 goals-against average and a 0.897 save percentage.

Sunday, March 9 @ Syracuse Crunch (Tampa Bay Lightning)—3:00p.m.

The B-Sens travel to Syracuse on Sunday for the 9th of 10 total meetings between their East Division rival the Crunch. Binghamton leads the season series 7-1 with its lone loss to Syracuse coming all the way back on October 19 in a 4-1 loss. The Crunch are 22-25-4-5 through 55 games this season, good for 53 points and last place in the division.

Rookie goaltender Kristers Gudlevskis has appeared in 22 games this season compiling an 11-8-2 record with 2.69 goals-against average and a 0.900 save percentage. Cedrick Desjardins played in 26 contests this year going 7-14-2 with 2.71 goals-against average and a 0.906 save percentage.

PROMOTIONS:

Saturday is the annual Parrot Head Beach Party Night with the B-Sens. Fans can enjoy live music and drink specials on the concourse starting at 6:00p.m. when the gates open. Tickets are available for $16 when using the promo code Buffett when ordering with $2.00 going back to the Vets Center. Fans are welcome to stay after the game for a special Parrothead Concert on the front concourse.

Saturday will also be Hearing Loss Awareness Night. Binghamton’s local Hearing Loss Awareness Association (HLAA) chapter will have tables setup along the Arena concourse with information and facts about hearing loss and ways to both treat and prevent it from happening. The Mission of HLAA is to open the world of communication to people with hearing loss by providing information, education, support and advocacy.

SENS SNIPPETS…

Binghamton leads the entire American Hockey League with 15 short-handed goals this season. The next closest team is the St. John’s IceCaps with 10.

Forward Matt Puempel is tied for 4th among rookie skaters with 20 goals scored this season.